Current Legal News

Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.

Lynda Motes Hill, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Amicus Curiae, National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center.

Judge: LEE

The issue presented in this premises liability case is whether a store owes a duty to protect its customer from a visibly intoxicated customer who was ordered to leave the store by store employees. A store patron sued a store for negligence after she was struck and injured in the store’s parking lot by a vehicle driven by another store patron. Store employees had refused to fill the other patron’s medical prescriptions because they believed she was intoxicated; she became belligerent, and store employees ordered her to leave the store knowing that she was alone and would be driving her vehicle. In response to the lawsuit, the store filed a motion to dismiss, contending that it did not have a legal duty to control the intoxicated patron after she left the store. The trial judge granted the store’s motion to dismiss. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the store owed the injured patron a duty of care to protect her from the intoxicated patron. Taking the plaintiffs’ allegations as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, we hold that the foreseeability of harm and the gravity of harm to the injured patron outweighed the burden placed on the store to protect the patron against that harm. Therefore, the store patron’s complaint contains sufficient allegations which, taken as true, establish that the store owed a duty of care to the injured patron. The trial court erred by granting the motion to dismiss.

In this wrongful death action, the plaintiffs alleged that after the deceased was involved in a single car accident, the investigating officer improperly allowed her to continue driving, resulting in her death when she had another wreck shortly thereafter. In the initial lawsuit, the defendants moved for summary judgment. The trial court found that the public duty doctrine applied and granted the motion. After the plaintiffs appealed, we held that under the public duty doctrine, disputed material evidence existed as to whether the officer assumed a specific duty to protect the deceased but then discontinued his aid and protection to her, thereby leaving her in a worse position than she was in before he intervened. We therefore reversed the summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. Lynch v. Loudon Cnty., No. E2010-02231-COA-R3-CV, 2011 WL 4952778 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 14, 2011). Upon remand the trial court found that the special duty exception did not apply and the public duty doctrine was a complete bar to the plaintiffs’ action. The court additionally concluded that Restatement (2nd) of Torts section 324 was not applicable and even if fault was compared, the fault of the deceased exceeded that of the officer by more than fifty percent. Accordingly, the trial court found that the claims of the plaintiffs must be denied. The plaintiffs again appeal. We affirm.

Six additional candidates have qualified to run in Rutherford County in 2014 races, The Daily News Journal reports. They include Eric Hennessee, who is running for General Sessions Judge, Part II; Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport, who is seeking re-election; Charles G. Ward, who is running for district attorney general; and three who are running for circuit court clerk: incumbent Laura Bohling, Melissa Harrell and Lance Jenkins. Read more about the candidates in the paper.

In an opinion piece published in The Tennessean Tuesday, Lt. Gov. and Senate Speaker Ronald Ramsey says it “is time to have the moral courage to give taxpayers and victims the justice they demand and deserve” by getting “serious about the death penalty.” Ramsey argues the time is right to restart executions because the state has a workable and “as humane as possible” method for administering lethal injections, and that with advances in DNA technology we can be “more positive than ever that those convicted of capital crimes are guilty.” He notes that 79 people await execution on Tennessee’s death row and that on average, they spend 20 years waiting for their final punishment.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has awarded $548,030 to 25 organizations across the state as part of its 2014 Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) grants. Gifts range in size from $3,000 for Catholic Charities’ Immigrant Services to $122,153 for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. Legal aid agencies in Jackson, Knoxville and Memphis also received funding. Download the full list at the link above.

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) recently released updated rosters for a variety of boards and commissions that fall under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Supreme Court. New appointments will take effect Jan. 1, 2014. New members named to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission are Mary Ann Zaha and Virginia Story, who replace Glenna Ramer and Edward Silva. At the Board of Law Examiners, the court appointed Rhynette Hurd and Jeffrey Ward to replace Jimmie Carpenter Miller and Ricky Wilkins. New members named to the CLE Commission are Cynthia Hall and Sarah Creekmore Woodall, who replace Thomas Clifton Greenholtz and John Stanley Rogers. The court also named Ed Lancaster as chair. At the Board of Professional Responsibility, the court appointed Odell Horton to replace Clarence Halmon and named Russell Parkes as chair and Michael King as vice chair. New members named to the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund For Client Protection are Rep. Vance Dennis, Jonathan Guthrie and Spencer Chinery, who replace Laura Keeton, Katherine Wilson Singleton and Mary Ann Zaha. Fund leaders include Chair Dawn Deaner, Vice Chair Marty McAfee and Secretary/Treasurer Kim Helper.

In an interview with National Public Radio today, ABA President James Silkenat says that one reason first-year law school enrollment is down is “student loan debt in the six figures.” He thinks some students have decided that law school is no longer “worth it” since jobs remain scarce and the amount of debt affects career options. “The level of debt, frankly, affects the kinds of careers that law graduates can pursue. It's very difficult becoming a legal services lawyer working in environmental issues or something where the pay is not…at Wall Street levels,” he said. Silkenat says the enrollment numbers point to a larger issue: law school tuition needs to come down.

As 2013 comes to a close, Justice at Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg reflects on what he says was a “pretty challenging year” for state and federal courts. He also predicts that 2014 will present new challenges as many states are scheduled to hold judicial elections. On the federal level, Brandenburg says there were historic gains for diversity on the bench in 2013, but that the courts continue to suffer from a long-term funding crisis exacerbated by the sequestration budget cuts. On the state level, Brandenburg praised West Virginia for adopting public financing of judicial races but lamented efforts to dismantle merit selection for Kansas judges. Finally, Brandenburg says he expects to see a renewed effort in the states to do away with or politicize merit selection of judges over the next year. Watch his remarks in a video from Justice at Stake.

Court of Appeals Judge Holly Kirby of Memphis has been appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court by Gov. Bill Haslam. Kirby will succeed Janice M. Holder, who earlier announced she would retire at the end of her term in 2014. Kirby, a native Memphian, has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section, since 1995. She was the first woman to serve on that court and has authored more than 1,000 opinions on appeals from trial courts across the state, The Memphis Business Journal reports. Prior to that appointment by former Gov. Don Sundquist, Kirby was a partner at the Memphis law firm Burch, Porter & Johnson.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon says that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records is likely unconstitutional, the Associated Press reports on WATE. Leon has put his decision to grant an injunction against the NSA on hold, however, predicting a government appeal would take at least six months. He said he was staying the ruling pending appeal "in light of the significant national security interests at stake in this case and the novelty of the constitutional issues."

Chris Clem says he is stepping down as the Hamilton County Election Commission’s attorney at the end of the month. He has served six years, the Chattanoogan reports. Clem told the panel he is leaving because he wants to get back involved in politics, however, one commission member suggested Clem had been forced out of the position.

Nashville-based Gibson Brands Inc. has filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against technology company Ceton Corp., claiming a breach of contract over a wireless home-entertainment system that Gibson was paying Ceton to develop. In the suit, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Gibson alleges it contracted with Kirkland, Wash.-based Ceton to design and produce a system that Gibson conceived and intended to launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month. Gibson claims that Ceton has stopped working for the Nashville company and plans to produce and market the system on its own, the Tennessean reports.

Former TBA President Gail Ashworth has been appointed by the Supreme Court to serve the remainder of Bill Young’s term on the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission. Ashworth will be eligible for reappointment in April 2014.

UT Medical Group Inc. says it plans to appeal a Memphis jury’s $33.5 million malpractice verdict against the organization that has its leadership considering bankruptcy protection. The Memphis Business Journal reports that case records from Shelby County Circuit Court show that after the verdict, UTMG called for a new trial and requested the $33.5 million verdict be reduced. Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers denied the motion for a new trial but agreed to reduce the award by $1 million.

Clinton lawyer J. Michael Clement is running for Anderson County Juvenile Court judge in the May 2014 Democratic primary, Knoxnews reports. Clement is seeking the post now held by Brandon Fisher, who is running for the Anderson County chancellor seat vacated by the retiring Chancellor Bill Lantrip. Clement said he has represented clients in Juvenile Court since he began practicing law and brings “a wealth of knowledge and a depth of feeling for the Juvenile Court system.”

National law school enrollment figures reported today by the American Bar Association show an 11 percent drop in first year students – a trend not reflected at law schools across Tennessee. By contrast, the state's six law schools show a combined 3 percent increase in first-year enrollment from 2012 to 2013, though the trend varied at individual schools.

Gov. Bill Haslam appears to be coasting easily to a second term. Less than a year before Tennesseans take to the polls next November, Haslam does not face a serious challenge from the left or the right, the Tennessean reports. A poll released last week by Vanderbilt University shows Haslam has a 61 percent approval rating, and campaign finances show he has at least $2 million in the bank. But the Republican governor appears to be taking little for granted, the newspaper notes. The Haslam campaign is preparing a major fundraiser in Nashville early next year with a top donor’s circle of $100,000, an escalation in the money battle even as Democrats struggle to find a credible challenger.

Charles Grant, the new president of the Nashville Bar Association, tells the Nashville Business Journal that while the proposed constitutional amendment to change the way judges are selected is not perfect, it is better than popular elections for filling appellate and Supreme Courts posts. "Our view is that the direct election of appellate judges is not in the best interest of Tennesseans," Grant said. An attorney at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and the first African American president in the association's 182-year history added, "While the constitutional amendment is not the ideal solution, it is much better than the popular election of them, where candidates run and [are] elected due to powerful interests," The Nashville Business Journal reports.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was in Memphis last Friday at several events connected to the law school and at a public luncheon. Notable remarks from the day included a defense of gridlock in the nation’s capital, the suggestion that the U.S. Supreme Court is not the most important court in the country and an endorsement for maintaining the third year of law school. Scalia also promoted the importance of an independent judiciary and the U.S. system of a decentralized government. The Memphis Daily News and the Memphis Business Journal have more on the visit.

A major settlement reached with insurance companies will provide “a very significant amount” for victims in a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak, says bankruptcy trustee Paul D. Moore, who has been handling the cases filed against the New England Compounding Center. Moore announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached with the company's primary insurer. He also said there was an agreement with the insurer for another defendant in a series of civil suits that have been merged before a federal judge in Boston. The settlement is still subject to court approval, though parties on both sides applauded the plan. Read more in The Tennessean.